


Business as Unusual

by TheDarkFlygon



Series: Inazuma Coffeeshop AU [1]
Category: Inazuma Eleven
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Best Friends, Birthday, Dialogue Heavy, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-12-01 19:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20868332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkFlygon/pseuds/TheDarkFlygon
Summary: A not-so-ordinary day at Inazuma University's coffeeshop, told from the perspective of its clients and staff.(or: I wish my cinnamon roll of a favorite character a happy birthday)





	Business as Unusual

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a great opportunity to display my new AU, the originally titled "The Inazuma Coffeeshop AU Nobody Wanted (but is getting anyway)" (or "Inazuma Coffeeshop AU" for short). I'm super happy to finally be able to unveil this little thing I've been working on for a little while, especically for such an occasion!  
More info in the end notes, so even if you do not wish to read my 3 lines of implied TachiOto, you can still know about the AU! (also those lines are the very end, if really you do not wish to see this ship, the rest is free from shipping)
> 
> Serious note now. Of all Inazuma characters, I didn't expect Tachimukai to get an official birthday, but I'm super grateful (and almost late, it's 11PM as I'm typing and posting this) for it. I can't celebrate my favorite character from this franchise as a whole enough. He's at the same time my spiritual animal, my son and the boy I grew up with in my head. It's weird, it's insane. I just love this little guy so much.  
I've found myself relating to Tachimukai starting from high school, around the time I was at my lowest and where I was alone, hating myself and rediscovering Inazuma in Japanese. All thanks to YT once recommending me the 89th episode in French, it was like having a revelation despite how cynical I went into the episode then, "I'm gonna watch it because I'm bored and still have 2 months of summer break all alone like this, save me". There's something special about these comfort characters we all have, the ones we love too much to forget about for too long. There's a reason why this little guy was on my college hat, as a pin I miraculously found at a con in a time where I wasn't as intensely into Inazuma as I used to be and before Ares came back to pick me up.  
So, to this boy whom I've shared my anxiety to please, my imposter syndrome, my occasional loneliness, my fear of failure and my desperate wish to be appreciated and loved: thank you being there for me, even if you're fictional and I'm a strange human being. Thank you for allowing me to project my burdens on you, even if my 2014 writing makes me cringe and even if I've dragged you through the mud because of it. You're my anchor, in a way I can't really describe, even if I'm a literature major and stuff. I've gotten better, much better, have found my true friends and way in life, have gotten over my main anxieties and fears; and I hope that, wherever fictional characters are when they seem forgotten by their show, you do as well as I do today.  
Happy birthday, Tachimukai. You may be fictional, but you still matter to me.

“You’re sure you want to do this?” Norika asks for what feels like the tenth time in the same minute as she ties her apron behind her back. “I’ve told you, it’s fine if you take the day off.”

“We always have a lot of customers on week days,” Tachimukai replies immediately, already washing his hands, “so I think we’re both needed. I can’t have you run the shop by yourself like this!”

“I told I’d be fine! And I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind giving a hand if I was getting submerged. Tsunami used to work here, I’m certain he still knows everything needed to help me out! Plus, don’t you want to go watch the team play this afternoon?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Umihara…” He muses to himself, an awkward smile on his face.

“I’ll just ask Haruna to take pictures for me! I just really want you to go watch it! Aren’t you Endou’s biggest fan? Plus, if you go there, you could get the both of us autographs from the guy himself!”

Tachimukai seems bothered more than anything else by how pushy she’s being about it, and she’s well aware that she must be sounding very annoying, but she decided she won’t give up until he takes that damn day off and profits from life, for once.

Still, he sighs. “Fine. I promise I’ll take the afternoon off if there isn’t an influx. But until then, I’m staying!”

Heh, that’s good enough for now, she supposes. He’s kind of stubborn, not unlike Endou. It can be endearing and frustrating, depending on what the situation is.

* * *

“C’mon, Tachimukai, you’re working even _today_?!” Tsunami yells in the shop, hands slammed against the wood of the counter, eyes growing wide.

Geez, that guy, he swears… Well, that was to be expected. It’s not because he woke up later than his roommate that he wouldn’t be there. Still, couldn’t he be unexpectable, for once? He could have bet his entire month of income on this and have won everything back!

“Ah, yeah! It’s a Wednesday, so there’s the soccer club coming after training!”

“You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Well… I see where you’re coming from,” Tachimukai replied surprisingly calmly about it, “but that doesn’t make it okay for me to give up on Umihara when we’ll have a lot of clients to serve! Or, at least, that’s what I think.”

“Geez, you even have a _point_ about this! You knew we’d ask, didn’t you?”

“You counted down the days to today, Tsunami, of course I'd notice!”

Bullseye.

“You’re far more aware than you let on, you know that?”

“I think you’ve told me before.”

He laughs it off as he serves his roommate his usual cup of sweetened coffee.

“You’re telling me even Umihara didn’t manage to convince you?”

“Oh, she tried, even after I told her it was alright! I… may have promised her I’d take the afternoon off if we didn’t get a lot of clients, though.”

“That’s what I figured, of course she’d make you waver in your conviction! You’re both so stubborn, it’d be hard for either of you to convince the other…”

Tachimukai giggles again, asking for the usual price, to which Tsunami puts his coins.

“I really appreciate the concern, but really, it’s nothing big. Plus, it’s not like I have a lot of homework lately.”

“You… do realize we’re not insisting because of your workload?”

He shrugs, “I don’t see in how it changes things.”

“…you really don’t, do you…”

Well, that was to be expected, Tsunami figures.

* * *

“Hello everyone,” Nosaka’s voice echoes through the empty coffeeshop as he enters with only Ichihoshi by his side.

“Hi guys!” Umihara sounds as energetic as ever, her eyes shimmering with excitement as she rises her head from the glasses she was drying.

“Hi Umihara!” Ichihoshi then chimes in, smiling. His tone slightly changes to surprise when he gets to the counter, noticing he’s missed someone, scratching the back of his head with wide eyes. “Ah, hi Tachimukai! Sorry, I didn’t you see before! I keep doing it too…”

The latter, called out, rises from the bottom of the counter and almost hits his head on the edge of it.

“It’s fine, don’t worry! What can I do for you?”

It’d be business as usual if Nosaka didn’t acknowledge the fact he was accompanied by neither Anna nor Nishikage. A complicated story, really, so it’s not worth mentioning it to the baristas. He’ll tell them if they ask for it, he supposes.

“I’ll get the usual,” he instead tells Umihara, already putting his money on the counter.

“Right away!” Umihara replies with a cup already in her hand. “Just for Ichihoshi and you or the entire group?”

“Just us two, please.”

“Got it!”

From the corner of his eye, he can already see Tachimukai rush to his workmate’s aid, only for her to purposely turn around so he doesn’t even get to see the plastic cup.

“I’m taking care of both of the orders, you go read a book or something in the meantime!”

“It’s… it’s just preparing two cups of coffee, though, I can do that…”

“Nu-uh!”

It’s amusing, to Nosaka, to see these two persons who usually work in unison to suddenly do the polar opposite. It gives another taste to this day which, otherwise, wouldn’t have seemed much different from usual to the customers’ eyes.

Ichihoshi walks up to him, fetching his drink and giving him his thanks, “I’m paying next time”. Breaking the routine, even in the slightest, is a nice thing. He’ll make sure to give his wishes before leaving, once the bartenders will have settled for an agreement. 

* * *

“I _wish_ I was surprised to see you here,” he tells his colleague as soon as he enters the shop.

“Hi Haizaki!” the guy in question responds in a mismatched tone.

“Hi everyone!” Akane continues the greetings, holding onto her childhood friend’s hand. She’s as happy and enthusiastic as ever.

“Good afternoon, Haizaki, Miyano!” Umihara then arrives from the staff room, hands on her hips. “I see you had the same reaction as I did this morning, Haizaki. Well, I’d have phrased it differently, but you get the point…”

“Wait, is today special?” Akane asks, blissfully unaware.

“It’s _someone_’s special day, but he refuses to acknowledge it!” Umihara replies with a pout, the point of focus lightly laughing in embarrassment in the meantime, before giggling and smiling again. “That’s Tachimukai for you!”

“Ah, I see! I’d have baked some cookies if I knew…”

“Oh God,” Haizaki reacts with a mix between a deadpan and consternation, “please don’t do that, Akane. You’re going to kill him if you do.”

“Like I ‘ended you’ when I surprised you for yours?”

His face suddenly burns.

“We don’t talk about _that_, Akane!”

Umihara laughs in reaction, the two girls winking in each other’s direction. Those two absolutely were in the know.

“The usual for you two?” Umihara then asks, as if none of that conversation

“Yeah,” Haizaki replies, hands in his pocket and his friend’s arm around his.

“Yes please!”

* * *

Their last client of the day is Otonashi, who’s come after the soccer club (whom all had their fair share of wishes to give, as expected), having cleaned after them. She’s as relaxed and assured as usual, entering the coffeeshop with her bag in her hand and red glasses on her face. The atmosphere of the shop changes a little whenever she enters, if Tachimukai is to believe his own instincts. It must just be him, though, considering Umihara never looks any different in those situations.

The one little thing that’s different about it is that she’s accompanied by Tsunami. It’s not rare for the both of them to come at the same time, but considering they’re near closing hours, he’s surprised Tsunami hasn’t gone back to their flat yet. It’d make sense for him to be home and doing homework already, wouldn’t it? Oh well… It wouldn’t be the first time he’d have had trouble understanding his best friend, so it’s not that big of a deal.

Both Umihara and he greet their last customers of the day, right as she puts in front of the door their “Closed” sign. At least, he’ll be walking back home with Tsunami, this sounds very good in his book. It’s been a while since they’ve had the opportunity to do so, with their differing schedules.

Before they can even say anything, Umihara starts serving them their usual orders, getting cups from the counter and getting to work immediately. Again, she steals the ones he’s picked up from his hands, giving him a “nu-uh”, and does it on her own. He doesn’t dare bothering her with it, so he instead goes to talk with his friends.

“Hey, sit here, pal,” Tsunami tells him as he pats the spot between Otonashi and him, a wide grin on his face.

“I’m… I’m kind of working, right now, so…”

“It’s the end of the day, who cares?” Otonashi adds, winking. “Plus, aren’t we your customers? I’ve heard the client is always right!”

“O-okay, if you want…”

He does as ordered, glancing at Umihara, only for her to give their little trio a thumbs-up. Her agreement seals the deal. As such, with his heart at peace for now, they start talking about their day, most of the questions revolving around him. He supposes he can’t escape the attention on such a day, so he accepts it all and decides to laugh off his own embarrassment.

Eventually, Umihara goes to join them with a tray in her hands and four cups on it. Nobody gets their money out, so he’s about to get his wallet from his apron’s pocket, only for it to have been untied while he wasn’t looking and Otonashi’s hand on his arm telling him he shouldn’t be doing that.

“It’s on the house,” Umihara says as she puts the tray and gives everyone their respective drink. He takes his with a little hesitation, but they’re not leaving him with much of a choice, aren’t they?

“Thanks,” the three of them say at almost the same time. Tsunami’s voice, as usual, is the loudest and the clearest. It feels comfortable to be around his friends, so he figures he should stop minding.

“Now, I wish we had candles, but if I light something up the smoke detectors will go off and we’re gonna get soaked, so it’s not worth it if you ask me. Instead, I’ve decided we’d also all eat cinnamon rolls, also on the house!”

“I think it’s time for it, right?” Otonashi asks, picking his hand in hers, and he feels a little warmer all of a sudden. He’s not even sure if she realizes she’s doing it, but he doesn’t mind and, shortly after, he realizes she’s absolutely meaning it with her wink. Oh…

“Yeah! At three…”

The countdown is short and straight to the point, with three happy faces beaming upon him.

“Happy birthday!”

* * *

That evening, he gets a videocall from his former school’s soccer club, Yokato, wishing him a happy birthday. They’ve all pretty much changed at least a little from what he can remember, and he must have too since the last time they’ve spoken like that. It’s the sign that time passes by.

Today is exactly the kind of day where you _wouldn’t_ forget about that, isn’t it?

**Author's Note:**

> I think I've not tagged this many character since Black-Winged Icarus. Oof.  
Also, I promised it in my beginning notes, so here it is: the Google Docs link to my setup for this AU! It's not finished (it won't ever be 100% complete, believe me), but I figured I'd share it because I'm having a ton of fun working on it day after day. I've even turned on comments in case you have something to say about it and all.  
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XnVuYyJfvK-HhjjKhg3tBeSARnxelQUqOSXBpVBxMtY/edit?usp=sharing


End file.
